Odd-Even Scheme and Pollution in Delhi

Introduction

The quality of air in Delhi, India's capital, is the worst compared to any major city in the
world, according to an analysis of 1,650 urban areas. India has the most notable death rate in
the world, as shown by the WHO, from constant respiratory and asthma diseases. In Delhi, 50
per cent of all children experience permanent damage to the lungs. Air pollution in India is
sought to kill around 2 million people every single year; it is India's fifth-largest killer.

Causes of Pollution in Delhi

1. Badarpur Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant that was commissioned in
1973, is another vital source of air pollution in Delhi. It generates 80 to 90 per cent of
the particulate matter emissions from the electricity sector in Delhi while supplying
less than 8 per cent of the city's electric power. The Badarpur Power Plant was briefly
closed in November 2017 during the Delhi Great Smog. But it was allowed to restart
on 1 February 2018 to mitigate the acute air pollution. The power plant has been
permanently shut down since 15 October 2018, taking into consideration the adverse
impact on the atmosphere.

2. Emissions from motor vehicles.

3. Other causes include wood-burning fires, agricultural land fires, diesel generator
fumes, construction site smoke, waste combustion, and illegal industrial activities in
Delhi. While pollution is at its worst from November to February, for a large part of
the year, Delhi's air misses clean-air standards by a broad margin. It is a toxic
combination with its 9 million vehicle pollutants, developmental residue and waste
burning. On the worst days, the air quality index, a benchmark ranging from zero
(safe) to 500 (hazardous), surpasses 400.

4. Stubble burning also affects the air quality of Delhi when crops are harvested.

5. According to 2011 Census-India, while Delhi has gone completely kerosene-free and
90% of households use LPG for cooking, the remaining 10% use wood for cooking,
crop residue, cow dung, and coal.

6. Absence of dynamic monitoring and reaction by authorities

7. Heavy metal-rich fire-crackers.

8. Also, fog emissions from wet cooling towers are a source of particulate matter as they
are commonly used for heat dispersion in cooling systems in industry and other
industries.
 9. The large population of India, which causes overcrowding can lead to pollution.

Effects of Pollution

Impact on children
Due to the poor quality of the air, 2.2 million children in Delhi have permanent lung damage.
As children grow and develop, they become more vulnerable to the harmful effects of air
pollution. Research indicates that pollution can reduce the immune health of children and
raise the risks of cancer, asthma, diabetes and even diseases of adult-onset, such as multiple
sclerosis.

Impact on adults
Decreased lung capacity, headaches, sore throats, coughs,
exhaustion, lung cancer, and early death are a result of poor air
quality. If the particulate matter(≤ pp10) is not regulated during
the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic, the aerosols will act as virus
carriers/host in the rapid spread of the deadly disease.

Odd-Even Scheme

The Delhi government's odd-even scheme is a measure of traffic rationing in which private
vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd digit would be permitted to drive on
odd dates and even dates on those with an even digit. Registered vehicles ending with odd
digits such as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 on roads on even dates such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 0 will not be permitted on
roads where and when the scheme is being enforced. In a similar fashion, on days with odd
number dates, such as 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15, vehicles with registration numbers ending with
even digits - 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 - will not be permitted on highways.

Origin of Odd-Even Scheme

The Odd-Even Scheme was first implemented by Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi,
in 2016. However, the concept dates way back to 1979.

When chaotic circumstances in Iraq and Iran led to a worldwide rise in oil prices, the USA
used odd-even rationing.

After Hurricane Sandy struck the US, the scheme was again used in 2012. Gasoline became
scarce, resulting in the hoarding of petrol. License plates were deemed unusual without
numbers.

Air pollution levels in India's capital city shot up to dangerous levels every year after Diwali.
The odd-even scheme was first introduced in Delhi in 2016, 2017 and then in 2019 by the
Delhi government headed by Arvind Kejriwal. In addition to the air pollution from Diwali
crackers, the burning of crop residue in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana adds to the
severity of the situation. The Air Quality Index (AQI) level went as high as 700 on November
1, 2019, prompting a panel mandated by the Supreme Court to declare a public health
emergency in the Delhi-NCR area. It banned building activities for five days, and schools
were also shut down.

Impact

An AQI statistics study showed that during odd-even days in 2019, Delhi's air quality did not
improve. The average AQI was 362 from November 4-15. The average AQI for the same
time in 2018 was 335 in the absence of the odd-even scheme. Simply put, in odd-even days
compared to 2018, Delhi's air quality was 8 per cent worse.

According to CPCB guidelines, an AQI of above 300 is considered very dangerous and
prolonged exposure to it can cause people to have respiratory diseases.

The positive effect of the odd-even scheme is the reduction of the concentration of toxic
chemical elements such as arsenic, copper, lead, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, silica,
sodium, chlorine, potassium, chromium and iron. These components are known to cause
many illnesses in both humans and animals when inhaled for prolonged periods. Lead is a
recognised neurotoxin and is believed to cause adverse effects on pregnant women and
children.

Conclusion

Air pollution is a prominent health concern in India. As of 2019, out of the 30 most polluted
cities in the world, 21 are situated in India. Not only pollution causes a range of diseases in
children as well as adults, but it also depletes the ozone layer, which plays a key role in
protecting our planet from the harmful rays of the sun. Other than the odd-even scheme
adopted by Delhi government, certain measures such as penalty on burning garbage and 50
per cent reduction in solid fuel to cook food are also implemented. The government is doing
all it can to reduce air pollution as much as possible and it's important that as citizens of
India, we also strive to do so.